Gloves, including work gloves, are known in the art. The gloves are usually manufactured from cloth, leather or rubber and are suited to protect the hand to some degree. Most gloves are formed in a shape approximately the same as a hand when pressed flat on a surface or extended to be essentially flat or straight, such as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. In that position, the fingers extend outward, essentially straight from the palm (in this context “straight” means there is essentially no bend at any of the joints). In this position, the thumb is oriented in a flat plane or is slightly abducted away from the palm. A problem with the standard glove shape is that the relaxed hand is not naturally in a flat position with the fingers essentially straight. As shown in FIGS. 3-4, 21 and 30A-30B, when in its normal, relaxed position, which is also called the normal hand cascade position, the joints of the fingers (the fingers and thumb also collectively referred to herein as “digits”) are naturally in a flexed position, with the thumb in a different plane than the fingers. This normal position does not match the shape of a standard surgical glove.
If a person wears gloves for a long period, his/her fingers and hands can become tired or fatigued because of constantly overcoming the biasing forces of the gloves in order to flex the fingers and hands (either to a closed position, open position, or both).
Consequently, when a standard work glove is placed on a hand, the material of the glove tends to hold the fingers from the normal, relaxed position to the less natural straight position. When a worker then uses his/her hand, in order to flex the fingers, the biasing force of the glove material must be overcome. For example, FIG. 5 shows a hand 500 grasping a dental instrument 502, FIG. 33 shows a hand grasping a screw in a three-point chuck pinch, and FIG. 34 shows a hand grasping a device using the three ulnar digits and thumb. In FIG. 5, fingers 504-510 are flexed to grasp the instrument 502, and to do so, any resistance by glove 512 must be overcome. The same is true when moving the hand to the positions in FIG. 33 or 34.
In addition to standard gloves being formed in essentially a straight position, they have no structure to permit the expansion or contraction of the dimensions of portions of the hand when the hand is moved to a closed or open position. For example, the circumference of a flexed finger (such as when the fingers are flexed towards the palm of the hand) is greater than its circumference when relaxed or in the straight position. This concept is illustrated in FIGS. 22 and 37, showing a 20% increase in circumference in a female index finger and a 22% increase in circumference in a male index finger. If gloves are designed so they tightly fit fingers that are in the straight position, and then the fingers are flexed, the fingers must also overcome the biasing force of the glove material that restricts digital expansion. Consequently, there is a need for extra material during flexion of the fingers so the portion of the glove covering the portion of the finger that expands can (1) permit expansion when the finger is flexed, and (2) contract back into shape and is not used when the finger is not flexed. The biasing force of gloves also includes adduction of the fingers, a force tending to keep the fingers together in line rather than in their natural cascading position. This is another biasing force that must be overcome when using standard gloves.
Glove designs with baggy, or loose-fitting portions, at one or more areas are known, but such gloves are not optimal for a worker performing procedures that require fine, precise work. Further, baggy gloves may become caught in pinch points or machinery. FIG. 31 depicts an oversized glove on a hand and shows how the excess material can create problems with manual dexterity, slippage, and getting caught in pinch points or machinery.
Glove designs are also known that have ribs at some areas, but while the ribs may help to some degree, they do not overcome the problems described herein.
It would be beneficial to have gloves that minimize biasing forces, that include a minimal amount of excess, loose or baggy material, and that are relatively simple to manufacture, so they are cost effective.